Hungarian in the Courtroom – The Use of the Hungarian Language in the Courts of the First Czechoslovak Republic
The weakest link of democracy in the First Czechoslovak Republic was the issue of guaranteeing the linguistic rights of ethnic minorities. This study explores the application of linguistic rights of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia in the courts of the First Czechoslovak Republic. The first part outlines the legal background governing the use of languages. The second part shows through specific cases taken from the contemporary press and archival materials how legal rights were implemented in practice, and what difficulties had to contend with all those who wished to use their native Hungarian language before the court